The late US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was regarded as arguably the most powerful holders of that office in American history. While numerous second-in-commands were limited to peripheral or symbolic roles, Cheney exercised enormous influence during the administration of George W Bush, to the point that he was frequently called as the "real president".
Bush objected to this portrayal and stated the dynamic was more complicated. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, invariably calling him in official appearances as Mr President, while he addressed him as Dick. Bush challenged even descriptions of their partnership as a team because it implied that they were on equal footing. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the laidback president pliable on a wide array of governmental choices.
The Period Following the Attacks
Leading of a group of conservative hawks that encompassed Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been taking part in a gathering at a educational institution in Florida. As Bush made his way to a underground facility in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, directing the shooting down of any unresponsive planes heading toward the US Capitol.
Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be intent on retribution. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, like Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he campaigned for a invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to seize Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Controversial Policies
He voiced no apologies about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis perished, or about the harsh treatment of individuals apprehended after 9/11. He informed CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was founded on faulty information circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It was the correct action to do then. I believed it back then and I believe it presently."
But during that period, there were opposing views at a top tier about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own representatives to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the position. "I saw, as a baseline," he wrote later "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: in the worst case, deception, ineptitude, and graft."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely responsible for the Iraq invasion. Prior to 9/11, Wolfowitz had called for comparable steps. He had drafted a memo detailing scenarios in which national priorities might be endangered (featuring "obtaining essential resources, primarily Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had asserted that "the US should be positioned to act independently when collective action cannot be arranged," specifically referencing armed actions against Iraq.
Bush additionally had assumed the Oval Office generally inclined on carrying out what his parent had notably declined to do in 1991; remove Saddam. Subsequent to he had been fired by the White House, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had declared his objective of lowering America's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and suggested military action against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, believing he had been responsible for a scheme to kill his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a trip to Kuwait in 1993. He also disliked that one of the biggest establishments in Baghdad had a ground design with a likeness of his parent's face that each person had to tread upon.
Interrogation Methods
However it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous behind striking Iraq, consistently citing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or completely misleading. He supported what the Bush government indirectly described as "enhanced interrogation", the use of interrogation method and physical pressure.
Addressing a Senate report in 2014 that found that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He told Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and establish initiatives to apprehend the perpetrators who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it never happened again. That's exactly what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."
Public Image
Cheney enjoyed nicknames given to him by detractors such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In Peter Baker's 2013 book about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is quoted as saying: "Am I the sinister strategist in the shadows that remains unseen emerge from his lair? That is a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Debate over his commercial relationships accompanied him during his tenure as second-in-command. Even though he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but established relationships in defence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest oil and gas corporations, in 1995 as leader and chief executive.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the White House. Debatably, during the conflict in Iraq, Halliburton was granted US contracts totaling billions.
It made him rich. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm increased from his $258,394 during his time as Pentagon chief to $4.4m. When he resigned in 2000 he had a package totaling more than $20m|twenty
